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Further Reading

CMN Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie

The world famous shipyard of CMN is situated in the French port of Cherbourg. It is here that the combination of a highly skilled and experienced workforce, plus a modern, undercover production facility is used by CMN to construct its outstanding products. In the 50 years since the formation of CMN, over 350 vessels have been built, or are currently on order at the Cherbourg shipyard. This total includes over 285 military craft in wood, aluminium, steel and advanced composite materials.

CMN uses the highly sophisticated computer assisted CIRCE-CATIA-RIMBAUD for modern design and shipbuilding technology. This design and manufacturing system is directly linked to the cutting machinery operations, and enables 2D and 3D plans realisation (hulls form, hydrostatics and stability calculation, piping and electrical plans). This modern technology enables CMN to build every year up to 10 vessels of all types (military, harbor craft, fishing boats.) in steel, aluminium, advanced composite materials and wood. CMN ships are built entirely undercover, using modern shipbuilding technology linked to the highly sophisticated CIRCE-CATIA-RIMBAUD computer assisted design and manufacturing system which is used to produce lines fairing, hydrostatic and stability calculations, detailed two and three dimensional, structural, piping and electrical drawings and computer controlled cutting machinery operations in an integrated system.

This modern technology linked to digitally controlled plasma-cutting and burning machines, together with automatic welding equipment, enables CMN to maintain a very high standard of hull construction. Spacious and well equipped outfit workshops with adjacent storage facilities,plus a complete land based test site facility enable CMN to effectively undertake complex combat system integration and complete machinery installation before the ships leave the building halls and travel to a 3500 tonnes synchrolift and the test and trials facility.

CMN's history is linked with the story of one man, Félix Amiot, born in 1894 in Cherbourg. Early in his life, Félix Amiot showed strong interest in aeronautics which led him to undertake the building of his first aircraft, Amiot 1, before the age of 20. Its fuselage made in metallic tube already foretells pioneer technologies, the latter will contribute to its creator's reputation. His high standard in production ranked Felix Amiot among those manufacturers, who between the two world wars, gave France a predominant place in the airplane design and manufacturing (eleven international speed records).

The aftermath of the war, both economical and political, leads Felix Amiot to turn into an other industrial sector the shipbuilding, using the expertise he had gained in the aeronautics area. He aims at the design and building of light fast attack craft, heavily armed, some sort of "sea -hunters".

However, the first vessel built by CMN was a wooden trawler which was launched on 23 June 1948. Soon the shipyard specialised in building vessels in wood. Specially in the Mine-Sweeper area for the French and German Navies. The Minesweeper design was followed by the improved version the Minehunter One of its major series was the well-known CIRCÉ class Minehunters (the first one was launched on 15 December 1970, the following four between 1971 and 1972). The Minehunter design is based on the use of the CMN patented "glued laminated wood technique' which gives the best answer to the ship qualities in term of : non-magnetism, noise 's absorption or noise's reflecting..

Quickly CMN diversified its products : minesweepers, coast guard vessels, then fishing boats, barge and patrol boats. In 1967 the Israeli destroyer Eilath was sank by a surface to surface missile fired from an Egyptian fast patrol boat. Since he diversified, Félix Amiot had always believed in fast patrol boat shipbuilding and this incident marks the beginning of this new type of shipbuilding. A Combattante I prototype was built with a wooden hull.